Apparatus for forming back heel seams for footwear



May 23, 1933. HERBSTER 1,910,694

APPARATUS FOR FORMING VB-XCK HEEL SEAMS FOR FOOTWEAR Original FiledSept. 24, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 y 23, 1933. B, H. HERBSTER 1,910,694

APPARATUS FOR FORMING BACK HEEL SEAMS FOR FOOTWEAR 3 Sheets-Sheet 2Original Filed Sept. 24, 1927 Eggaz h

y 23, 1933- B. H. HERBSTER 1,910,694

APPARATUS FOR FORMING BACK HEEL SEAMS FOR FOOTWEAR I Original FiledSept. 24, 1927 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 Patented May 23, 1933 UNITED STATESATENT ore-res iannranjrn i'innnsfrn'n, on ivrrnwitnnnn, wrseeasnw;ii'ssrenomee asses Assiefi lvrnnmsgmo Bos'ron MAoHlNn WdnKs commute; orLYNN} MASS efin sm rs} .A- can APPA-RATUS- non ron'lvime BACK HEEL seamsFOR FOOTWEAI? Original application filed- September 24} 1927, SerialNo-.- 2211734. Divided and this application filed April 5, 1930.- Serialat. 441,834.

This invention relates to improvements in apparatus for formingbaek'heel seams for footwear, and is adivision of application SerialNumber 221,734, filed September 24th, 1927, for'lvlet'hod forformingbaek'heel seams for footwear; which matured into Patent N 0-,137594543.

Heretofore, shoe manufacturers have en'- countered dilii'cul'ties informing the back'h'eel seam on shoes. The method formerly em ployfed wasto stitch the two quarters of leather together on the wrong side,appl'y'la strip of adhesive tape thereto, and then turn the prodnctrightside out. This method was fairly successful where a double row ofstitching was used, but double stitching is objectionable because-theseam formed thereby is not neat in appearance. When the aforementionedmethod was used" with a single row of stitching, d'iflicult'ies wereen'- countered. After turning. the product right side out, there was apronouncedbul'ging on one side of the seam, and the strip of tape on theinside wouldwrinkle. The result-Was a cumbersome looking seam and apoorly shaped heel portion. For these reasons, it became very desirableto devise a new method for taping and smoothing out the seam.

It'is one of the ohjects'of the present invention to provid eanapparatusfor forming back heel seams for footwear which will produce aWell shaped back heel portion of the shoe, and a seam crease which isneat in appearance.

It is a further object ofthis' invention to provide an apparatus forforming back heel seams for footwear in which a single row of stitchingis employed. 7

It is a furtherobject oi thisinvention to provide anapparatus forapplying the strip of adhesive tape to theseam ridge and for smoothingout the seam ridgeand shaping the heel portion when the quarters ofleather are right side out or in their natural position: I v I A furtherobject of this invention is to providean apparatus for forming back heelseams for shoes which is simple, efi ective, and well adapted for thepurpose. described;

With the above and other objects in view;

forth in" the" claims, and all equivalents thereof. v v p In the:accompanying drawings in which the same reference characters indicatethe same parts in all of the'views c Fig. 1' is a side elevation of theimproved apparatus for performing the combined operations of back seampressing and tape applying, showing the device" in" attachment with aportion of 'atable;

Fig. 2 is an end view' thereof; V Fig; 3" is a view of the opposite sideof themachine from'that shown in" Fig. 1 parts being" broken away andpar-ts beingshown-in tio Fig. 4. F 3

Fig. 5" is a sectional view taken on line 5-- 5 of Fig. 3; v

I Fi 6 is a detail View of the front end or the machine; Showing shoe uaters in' position on the machine, parts being broken.

y; i F i'g, 7 isa side'view of a1 portibn' ofthe machindshowing theshoe" quartersin post: tfion, parts being broken away and parts beingshown in" sectiony M y Fig: 8i's, a view of 'thein sidefof the" finishedproduct showing the attaehed' strip of adhe= si've; tape; and

Fig. 9 's an outside View of the finished product. e I Referring t thedrawings; the eumerar 12' designates a base memherwhi'cn is arranged tobe secured to a table 13. The-basememter is formed with a" right angulararm 14f and a 'tubular" ex t'ensionfl fi. Within; the" tubular extensiona bifurcated bearing lfij positioned. An adjusting 's'cr'ew l9fholds thebearing; at any desired length within" the tubular extension. Looselymounted on a 1 in 18 and withi-n'the' bifurcated end ortieir oft'hebearing isaj ba'ck heel s'eam" supporting member preferablyin'gtheforn'i of a wh'eel or rol1119; Seeure'dto the tubular extension"15; and having its upper end adjacenttlie: wheel 19 is atapeguidenohaving an eye 21. The

at is a sectional view taken on line till center of the shaft 22.

upper portion of the arm 14 forms a bearing for the shaft 22. On theouter end of this shaft is a rigidly mounted outer pulley 23 and arigidly mounted inner pulley 24. On an intermediate portion of the shaft22 is a tightly fitting eccentric sleeve 25. Loosely mounted on theeccentric sleeve is an outer collar26 formed with a downwardly extendingarm 2'? having a vertically extending slot 28. A bolt 29 projectsthrough this slot and into a bracket 30 which is secured to the arm 14.A spring member 31 held between pins 32 holds the arm 27 yieldingly in araised position. Secured to and projecting from the lower portion of thearm 27 is a seam smoothing member 33 having an engaging head 34. Thefront end of the shaft 22 is formed with an eccentric portion 35 whichis smaller in diameter than the main part of the shaft and which ispositioned ofi the Journaled on this eccentric portion is a feeding arm36 having a vertical slot 37. A bolt 38 extends through this slot andinto the arm 14. On the lower end of the feeding arm 36 and adjustablypositioned within a bore is an inverted T- shaped feeding member 39having a groove 40 in its lower surface. A. set screw 41 is arranged toadjust the feeding member 39 within the bore. Extending downwardly froma bracket 42 on the arm 14 is a guide finger 43. A spring 44 surroundingthe upper portion of the finger and positioned between extensions45holds the finger yieldingly in position.

The outer pulley 23 is rotated by means of a belt 46 which is connectedwith driving mechanism 47. The inner pulley 24 is connected by anendless belt with a lower pulley 48. The lower pulley is rigidly mountedon one end of a shaft 49 which is journaled in bearings 50, the latterbeing secured to the lower side of the table 13. On the other end of theshaft 49 a cranked arm 51 is rigidly mounted. A bearing 52 also securedto the underside of the table has journaled therein a shaft 53, upon oneend of which a tape holding wheel 54 is mounted. The wheel 54 isarrangedto hold a roll of adhesive tape 55 which is fed to the machine.

The operation of the device is as follows: When the power is turned on,the driving mechanism 47 is set in motion and this is transmitted by thebelt 46 and the pulley 23 to the shaft 22. As the shaft revolves, areciprocal motion is imparted to the eccentrically mounted arm 2'? andthe leather smoothing member 33. A similar motion is given to the arm 36by the eccentric 35. When the shaft 22 is rotating, motion isalsotransmitted by the pulleys 24 and 48 to the shaft 49. This causes thecranked arm 51 to rotate and pull the adhesive tape off of the roll,

method is used: Two pieces of leather forming the quarters of a shoe arestitched together on the wrong side. They are then turned right sideout, presenting a seam crease on the convex face of thework and a seamridge on the concave face of the work and placed in the machine on thewheel 19, as shown in Figs. 6 and 7. The guide finger 43 rests in theseam crease. Adhesive tape which passes from the roll over the crankedarm 51 and through the eye 21 in the tape guide 20, is in place on thewheel 19 with its adhering side up. As the leather is fed in, the feedmember 39 goes through the various positions shown by the dotted linesin Fig. 6, pressing down upon and smoothing out the seam ridge andcausing the adhesive tape to become affixed to the under side of theseam ridge. The feeding member 39 also tends to push or feed the leatherfurther along the wheel 19. The groove 40 in the feeding member is forthe purpose of receiving the seam crease, as illustrated in Fig. 7.After the strips of leather have passed the feeding member, they areengaged by the head 34 of 5:

the smoothing member 33. This member presses upon and smooths out theseam, shapes the heel portion of the shoe, and causes the marginal edgesof the tape to be secured to the adjacent face of the work on oppositesides of the pressed seam ridge. The finished products 56 are dischargedfrom the machine, as shown in Fig. 6, and it is then necessary to cutoff the projecting strips of tape. By this method, a neat seam and awell shaped back heel portion of the shoe are produced, as illustratedin Fig. 9. The smoothing out of the seam and taping are both done whilethe leather is right side out, so the necessity of turning the leatherover, and the consequent bulging, is eliminated. The strip of adhesivetape is also affixed to the inner portion in such a manner that thereare no wrinkles, as is illustrated in Fig. 8. That is, the marginaledges of the adhesive tape are united to the concave face of the work onopposite sides of the seam ridge.

From the foregoing description, it may be seen that the improvedapparatus for producing back heel seams for shoes is simple, effective,and well adapted for the purpose described.

What I claim as my invention is:

1. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting member, andmeans engaging the outside of the seam for simultaneously smoothing outsaid seam and applying a strip of material from below over the insidethereof.

2. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting member, meansfor holding a roll of adhesive tape, means for removing said tape fromthe roll and for guiding the tape to the seam supporting'member with theadhesive side of the tape up, and means 1 you engaging the outside ofthe seam for applying the tape and causing the adherence there of to theinside of the seam.

3. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting member, meansfor holding a roll of adhesive tape, means for removing said tape fromthe roll and for guiding the tape with the adhesive side up to the seamsupporting member, and a common means engaging the outside of the seamfor smoothing out the seam and for applying to and causing the adherenceof the tape to the inside of the seam.

4. A shoe machinecomprising a back heel seam supporting member, a Wheelfor holding a roll of adhesive tape, a cranked arm for engaging the tapeand causing the removal thereof from the roll, a tape guide adjacent theseam supporting member, and a common. means engaging the outside of theseam for smoothing out the seam and for applying to and causing theadherence of the tape to the inside of the seam.

5. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting Wheel, arotatable s iaft, an .ccentrically mounted feeding member having agrooved lower surface on said shaft, and an eccentrically mountedsmoothing member also on said shaft.

6. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting Wheel, arotatable shaft, an eccentrically mounted feeding member and aneccentrically mounted sn'ioothing member on said shaft, and a guidefinger for en gaging the crease of said seam.

7. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting Wheel, arotatable shaft, an eccentrically mounted feeding member and aneccentrically mounted smoothing member on said shaft, and a yieldinglymounted guide finger for engaging the crease of said seam.

8. A shoe machine comprising a back heel seam supporting Wheel, a Wheelfor holding a roll of adhesive tape, acranked arm for engaging the tapeand causing the removal thereof from the roll, a tape guide having aneye adjacent the seam supporting memher, a rotatable shaft, aneccentrically mounted feeding member and an eccentrically mountedsmoothing member on said shaft, a yieldingly mounted guide finger, andmeans for revolving the rotatable shaft and the cranked arm.

9. Apparatus for applying tape to the ridged back seam of shoe quarters,comprising a presser head, a mandrel disposed beneath said head, andmeans for guiding the tape upon the mandrel in position to have theridge of said seam pressed against the tape by said presser head.

10. Apparatus for applying tape to the back seam of shoe quarters,comprising a presser head, a mandrel, and a guide member for guiding thetape upon the mandrel,

said guide having Walls for shielding the Work from contact With thetape at points in advance of the presser head.

11. In a seam pressing machine, the combination with means forsupporting Work having a concave-convex formation comprising the piecesto form the heel portion of a shoe upper seamed together by a seampresenting a seam ridge on the concave face of the Work and a seamcrease on the convex face of the Work, said means comprising a Worksupport engaged With the concave face of the Work, of means engaging theconvex face of the Work for subjecting the seam ridge to pressure.

12. In a seam pressing machine, the combination With means forsupporting adhesive tape and also Work having a concavo-convex formationcomprising the pieces to form the heel portion of a shoe upper seamedtogether by a seam presenting a seam ridge. on the concave face of theWork and a seam crease on the convex face of the Work, said meanscomprising a Work support engaged With the concave face of the Work, ofmeans engaging the convex face of the Work for subjecting the seam ridgeto pressure in contact With the tape on the Work support.

13. In a seam pressing machine, the combination with means forsupporting Work having a concave-convex formation comprising the piecesto form the heel portion of a shoe upper seamed together by a seampresenting a seam ridge on the concave face of the Work and a seamcrease on the convex face of the Work, said means comprising a Worksupport engaged with the concave face of the Work, of means engaging theconvex face of the Work for securing adhesive tape to the seam ridge.

14. In a seam pressing machine, the combination With means forsupporting adhesive tape and also Work having a concavo-conveX formationcomprising the pieces to form the heel portion of a shoe upper seamedtogether by a seam presenting a seam ridge on the concave face of theWork and a seam crease on the convex face of the Work, said meanscomprising a Work support engaged With the concave face of the Work, ofmeans engaging the convex face of the Work to press the seam ridgenogressively, simultaneously secure adhesively coated tape to the seamridge and cause the tape to be adhesively secured to the concave face ofthe Work on opposite sides of the seam ridge.

In testimony whereof I afiix my signature.

BENJAMIN H. HERBSTER.

